Book review

1. Beamish, K. 1954. The effect of pollen ageing on seed development in Solanum (Abst.) Amer. Potato Jour. 31 : 366. 2. Cole, C. S. and H. W. Howard. 1957. The genetics of resistance to potato root eehvorm of 5"olauum tuberosum sub sp. andigenum, clone C.P.C. 1690. Euphytica 6: (in press). 3. Kawakami, K. 1934. (On the preservation of potato pollen) Agri. and Hort., Japan, 9:2012-2016. From Plant Breeding Abstracts 6, Abst. 928. 4. Kesseler, E. von. 1930. Der Pollen von Solanum tuberosum L., seine Keimfahigkeit und das Wachstum der Pollen-schauche. Angew. Bot 12:36~-418. 5. King, J. R. 1955. Irish potato pol!en storage. Amer. Potato Jour. 32:460-466.

assiduity, and hope that he may be able to complete his work by carrying it on to the end of the alphabet.
Autobiography of Frederick James G-ant, F.R.C.S. Pp. 200. London : Bailliere, Tindall, and Cox. 1905.?This little book gives in a disjointed manner a brief account of the life and activities of Frederick James Gant. It is written apparently in his 80th year, and has the marks of old age in its garrulity, its conversational style, and the introduction of domestic affairs, which are told with a fond interest which can hardly be fully shared by the reader. There is, on the other hand, a breadth and tolerance of view which are also the characteristics of advanced years in a healthy man in whom new light enters through the " chinks that time has made." The literary merits of the book are not great, and some parts, e.g. the list of honours gained at the School of Medicine for Women (which covers twelve pages), are distinctly dull. But the record is of a useful life, spent in work which one ought to appreciate.
The Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1903. Washington : Government Printing Office. 1904.?This volume contains an account of the work of the institution for the previous year. It contains in about goo pages matter as varied as that which may be found in the pages of the Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society, and in itself is only a review of the undertakings of the institution. The full details of the work carried out under its auspices are, in the majority of cases, published separately. A review of the volume must therefore be lengthy or inadequate. The Smithsonian Institution, which includes among its officers the President of the United States and the Members of his Cabinet (ex officio), has an endowment yielding fifty thousand dollars per annum, and receives an annual grant of the same amount from Congress. It controls the National Museum, the Bureau of American Ethnology, the National Zoological Garden, and the Astro-Physical Laboratory.
Beyond this, it has funds at its l66 disposal for the advancement of science, and grants are made to investigators without regard to their nationality. The appendix, containing abstracts of scientific papers, or in some ?cases the papers in full, indicates the scope of the work which the institution encourages.
All subjects, from radio-activity and researches on the X-rays to ethnological investigation and exploration of mountain regions, are dealt with, and at the hands of masters of their subjects. Some papers, such as that which deals with the discovery of frozen mammoth remains in Siberia, will prove interesting to the general reader. The whole of the institution's work lies in the advancement of knowledge through research. Its success in this direction is largely due to its secretary, Professor S. P. Langley, an active investigator himself, and therefore closely in touch with the needs of science. printed pages. Each region of the body is described in turn, first giving the external configuration of the part, then a description of the principal anatomical structures underlying the skin, followed by an account of the relationship of the deep structures to the surface markings. There are twenty-two illustrations, of which fifteen are photographs and the rest diagrams. Taking the book as a whole, it is a clear, readable, and comprehensive account of the subject, and should prove very useful to students and a handy book of reference. It is a matter of regret that there cannot be some agreement by authorities on anatomy on the best guide for surface-marking for each organ, so that some uniformity of description might be attained. In many points of detail the method of arriving at the surface-marking of deep structures by Moorhead differ from those ordinarily given, and there is a danger of confusion arising in the attempt to remember a double set of points. The book seems to show signs of hurried composition. Such inaccuracies as the statement that the nipple lies on the midclavicular line (p. 46), that the pylorus lies only half an inch above the subcostal plane (p. 73), that the tubercle on the crest of the ilium or the highest point of the crest?it is not clear which?lies on a level with the umbilicus opposite the fifth lumbar vertebra (p. 123), are all contradicted by his own illustrations. The figures, too, leave a great deal to be desired. It would be better to leave out Figs. 5 and ioa than have them so drawn that one nipple lies a long way outside the mid-clavicular line and the other lies upon it. The diagrams are too rough, and the photographs are not diagrammatic enough for the purposes of illustrating surface anatomy. by portions of the wall of an hydatid cyst in the liver.
Mr. Noon has done well to call attention to the infiltrating form of tuberculous disease of the intestine, and records an instructive case of this type of intestinal tuberculosis affecting the lower ileum, and causing obstruction. The case was under the care of Mr. Bruce Clarke, and is published in a paper entitled, " Cases from Mr. Bruce Clarke's Wards." It is interesting to note that one of these cases is the first successful pylorectomy at St. Bartholomew's; in all the previous four cases the operation was fatal. Mr. Compton is to be congratulated on the success of his case of multiple abscesses in the peritoneal cavity and metastatic abscess in the left lung, following appendicitis. There are many other papers of much interest and value, but space will not allow of any detailed reference to more of them. Press.?Specimens of case sheets, temperature charts and pathological reports have been submitted to us. They are drawn up for cases of lung disease, and seem complete and satisfactory. By them a thorough and clear record of each case can be kept. The diagrams of chest outlines are, however, rather in a cramped situation, and we should prefer more of them than simply one for the first and one for the last examination. The space allotted for the first full report of the case seems also to us a little restricted. The temperature charts are arranged for morning and evening temperatures only. The forms for pathological reports are simple and sufficient.
Clinical Lectures on Appendicitis, Radical Cure of Inguinal Hernia and Perforating Gastric Ulcer. By G. R. Turner, F-R.C.S. Pp.136. London: Bailliere, Tindall & Cox. 1905.? In the lectures dealing with appendicitis the author surveys the general principles which guide him in the selection of cases for operation, describes his technique and records his results. He advocates early operation unless the patient is obviously going to get well, and dees not consider it wise to wait if the patient has " abdominal pain, rigidity and tenderness about the iliac fossa, a rapid pulse, and especially if vomiting is present." In 1902 Sir Frederick Treves estimated the mortality of operation in the acute stage of appendicitis at 20 per cent., but the author's results show a mortality of only 9.9 per cent. An interesting table showing the mortality rate after operations for strangulated hernia at St. George's Hospital is given. The rate in 155 cases of inguinal hernia was 15.5 per cent., in 125 cases of femoral hernia it was 24 per cent., and in 25 cases of umbilical hernia it was 52 per cent. The author does not transplant the spermatic cord in operating for the radical cure of inguinal hernia. In operating for perforated gastric ulcer he advocates irrigation of the peritoneal cavity, believing it to be more efficacious than sponging. In appendicitis the opposite prevails. As a whole we may pronounce these lectures interesting and instructive, though no innovations of moment are introduced. The author's style is conversational and somewhat lacking in precision. As far as it goes it is more than usually accurate, and for the student who requires this sort of cram we would recommend it. X-Rays: their Employment in Cancer and other Diseases. By Richard J. Cowen. Pp. viii., 129. London : Henry J. Glaisher. not agreeing with all the statements of the author, we can recommend its perusal to X-ray therapeutists.
An Elementary Treatise on the Light Treatment for Nurses. By James H. Sequeira, M.D. Pp. 83. London: The Scientific Press, Limited. 1905.?This handbook is intended for the use of those engaged in the practical handling of the light treatment. It gives in a concise form some of the necessary information which makes a nurse efficient in the carrying out of the treatment, and explains the why and wherefore ot certain niatters of routine practice. It should be read by all who are engaged in this work before beginning the treatment. The book might be much more bulky without being so lucid and readable.
Some Methods of Hypodermic Medication in the Treatment of Inoperable Cancer. By John A. Shaw-Mackenzie, M.D.

1904.
The hypodermic methods of treatment discussed in this pamphlet are: First, that with Chian turpentine; secondly, with sodium oleate (soap); and, thirdly, with purified ox-gall. In each case the technique is fully described. Two cases are recorded in which the author used Chian turpentine and two in which he used the soap injections, and in these a great amelioration of symptoms was obtained. A large portion of the pamphlet is taken up with the description of Mr. J. H.Webb's method of treatment with purified ox-gall, or " animal gum," as it is called, or with this treatment in combination with the soap treatment. Twelve cases are recorded in this section, all Mr. Webb's, and one case of the writer's is briefly ailuded to. In all the results appear to have been remarkably good, and if such methods of treatment can be relied upon to produce results at all approaching those here recorded, then inoperable malignant disease can be shorn of most of its horrors.
The results, indeed, were apparently so superior to those obtained by any methods of which we have had personal experience that we can hardly credit them. We think, however, that the author justifies us in making a trial of these methods of treatment.

Deaths in Childbed.
By W. Williams, M.A., M.D. Pp. vi., gg. London : H. K. Lewis. igo4.?Anything practical which can be suggested to lessen the awful mortality in childbirth should receive careful consideration. It cannot be in accordance with the fitness of things that in 1901 in England and Wales 4,394 women should have died from disease or accident in connection with parturition. When we think of the enormous improvement in the results of major surgery it is disappointing to find that the maternal death-rate from septic diseases, reckoned per 1,000 children born alive, rose from 1.64 in 1851 to 2.14 in igoi. The highest mortality occurs among the poorer women who are attended in their own homes, and this is no doubt mainly owing to the large employment of untrained midwives, and to the ridiculous parody of thorough prophylaxis which is adopted by some practitioners. Dr. Williams hopes much from the Midwives' Act, and if, in connection with the working of this, an adequate system of training is adopted much will be done to render possible a marked diminution of the appalling disasters which too often occur in that which, speaking generally, should be an uncomplicated physiological process. Considerable instruction will be found in a study of Dr. Williams's many statistical tables, which form a large part of this reprint from the Lancet of the Milroy Lectures at the College of Physicians in 1904. His work will have merited its reward if it succeed in bringing the results of private obstetric practice at all into line with those obtained in the best midwifery institutions.
Transactions of the Obstetrical Society of London. Vol. XLV. London: Longmans, Green, and Co. 1904.?The records of the work of a learned society like the Obstetrical always supply good and instructive reading.
The Transactions are mainly reports of cases, accompanied by the discussions thereon, and afford much practical help. These, with the "inaugural'' address of Dr. Edward Malins on the question of the birth-rate as a national factor, make up a volume which, well printed and admirably illustrated, possesses a very definite attraction.
The Transactions of the Edinburgh Obstetrical Society. Vol. XXIX. Edinburgh : Oliver and Boyd. 1904.?For the general practitioner Dr. Ballantyne's contribution on " The Obstetric Satchel " and Dr. Kynoch's paper on " The Use and Abuse of Midwifery Forceps" will be found useful, whilst the more specialised obstetric surgeon will find in Dr. Munro Kerr's article on "Vaginal Csesarean Section" and Sir Halliday Croom's dissertation on " Csesarean Section in Eclampsia" much to merit his attention.
From the point of view of both of these obstetricians Dr. Scott Carmichael's paper on " Leucocytosis in Pelvic Diseases in the Female" should be strongly recommended.
Manual of Practical Ophthalmology. By George A. Berry, M.B. Pp. xix., 570. Edinburgh: Young J. Pentland. 1904.? We have had the pleasure of reading Mr. Berry's Manual of Ophthalmology. None of Mr. Berry's books need any praise from us, they praise themselves. He has sufficient reputation now as a "maker of books" to carry any of his works through. Anyone who has read his larger text-book on Ophthalmology will know the excellence of the matter he puts into his books. This present work, which is admirably written, is so full of information, it is almost like " reading a dictionary." We have, therefore the greatest confidence in recommending it to the student of ophthalmology.